


this is the future you ruined yourself

by jaehyoons97



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Making Out, i'm finally back in my element, mention of unrequited markyong, oh and i'm sorry if donghyuk's an asshole here, slight yutae i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 14:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14357706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaehyoons97/pseuds/jaehyoons97
Summary: “Don’t drink. Until you’re. Uh. How old am I?”“Twenty-four?”“Twenty-four. Don’t drink until you’re twenty-four.”





	this is the future you ruined yourself

**Author's Note:**

> I have the tendency to ship maknaes with either the hyungest or leaders. And I can't stop thinking about what might've happened that led them to making [this promise](https://youtu.be/vRSyEbhr81Q?t=37m16s).
> 
> Also, this is unbeta'd.

The ramen place is quiet, as expected considering the time; it’s past 1 am and no, it’s not the immense exhaustion that motivates Taeyong’s bizarre idea to go for a midnight meal in such a cold-biting temperature. Not to mention having to persistently mediate with the manager in order to have his wish granted. It’s a matter that Donghyuk look forward to find out, especially given that out of anyone that were still awake, it was Donghyuk who Taeyong asked to come with.

“How did you know about this place?” Donghyuk asks, eyes scanning the entire place; it’s no different than other ramen places, really, except there’s an illuminating board hanging at the door announcing the store is open 24 hours.

“Yuta took me here last time we went to Osaka,” Taeyong explains, flipping the menu and pointing at the japanese characters to help him read.

Donghyuk pokes his cheek with his tongue as he skims the menu himself. Of course, Yuta gets to be the one who Taeyong went with first.

“He reasoned he wanted to visit his family, taking me as his guarantee,” the older added, chuckling to himself and Donghyuk can’t help but turn his head to see the wrinkle under Taeyong’s eyes. “It wasn’t as late. We promised to get on the last train to return to the hotel.”

Donghyuk nods, responding with a few _hmm_ s in between Taeyong’s sharing of story and trying not to look as obvious that he is clearly not enjoying listening to Yuta and Taeyong’s little impromptu, unintentional midnight date.

(He doesn’t have to try so hard; Taeyong is as dense as a brick.)

“Have you decided what to order yet?” Taeyong asks, just in time Donghyuk feels a yawn coming. Finally.

“I’ll just have what you’ll have, hyung,” he says, not having the energy to bring himself to figure out the words on the menu.

“Oh,” Taeyong half-pouts; not cute, but Donghyuk’s heart softens anyway, “but we won’t get to taste each other’s menus then.”

This cracks a smile on Donghyuk’s face. How Taeyong could have the simple mind of a five-year-old despite being the decision maker of the group most of the times remains a delightful mystery to Donghyuk. “Fine then, your pick, hyung.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.”

So Taeyong orders for both of them; the japanese flowing out nicely and confident from his lips, a little mispronunciation and mishearing here and there but he manages to work it out with a mix of english until the waiter nods in understanding and not long after, their food come.

Donghyuk watches Taeyong as the older practically inhales his noodle and letting out a satisfied groan.

“That good?” Donghyuk asks, choosing to enjoy his dish slowly. He blinks, surprised at the kick the broth sends to his taste buds. Why the ramen place seems to have the vibe of being on the verge of closing down makes no sense to him. He decides to show his appreciation with consuming more of his food.

Taeyong grins, enjoying the baffled look on Donghyuk’s face before the waiter comes over again with a bottle of what seem to be alcohol along with a pair of shot glasses, one of which Taeyong asks to be returned to the kitchen.

“Don’t tell the manager,” Taeyong says, before gulping down a shot and resuming his eating.

“Can I try?” Donghyuk asks, already putting down his chopsticks.

Taeyong shoots him a disbelief look, pulling the sake bottle out of Donghyuk’s reach.

“I meant your food,” he says deadpanned, jokingly making a face to look betrayed by Taeyong’s false assumption.

“Sorry, I just- yeah, sorry. Knock yourself out,” Taeyong says, sliding his bowl to Donghyuk’s direction and accepting Donghyuk’s bowl in return.

“I wouldn’t ask for the drink you know, hyung. Even for, I don’t know, a bribe to keep me from telling the manager,” Donghyuk jokes, taking a big bite of Taeyong’s ramen and chicken slices.

Taeyong smiles and nods. “Yeah, my bad. You’re a good kid, Donghyuk-ah.”

They finish their food in silence then- Donghyuk gulping down until the last drop of the soup while Taeyong leaves a puddle in his bowl, opting to drink off his sake instead.

“Hyung, is there something you want to tell me?” Donghyuk finally asks, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He turns to the older, now slumped over the bar, using the sake bottle- it’s half empty- to prop his forehead up with.

Taeyong is never one to hold his liquor, so it’s quite easy to tell his state right now, even with Donghyuk’s non-existent knowledge about how much alcohol tolerance is considered normal.

“Taeyong-hyung,” he tries again, knowing for sure Taeyong didn’t hear him the first time.

Taeyong’s head snaps up; he turns his head to Donghyuk slowly and finally regains focus. “Yes?”

“ _Is there something you want to tell me_?” Donghyuk repeats. Might as well get this over with.

Taeyong blinks, inhales, exhales before he bows his head in defeat. “Mark kissed me.”

There it is.

(Donghyuk eases the pain in his heart with a controlled breathing. One sigh at a time.)

“It was quite a while ago, in Ukraine. We were drinking- well not me. Everyone else were, excluding me and some of the crew. I was being responsible, you know, what with having the manager breathing down my neck and all,” Taeyong says, swinging his free hand while he uses the other to hold onto the neck of the bottle.

His head is still hung at his neck, and Donghyuk observes the gradation along the older’s hair whorl.

“And then I learned being sober does not equal to being responsible.” Taeyong sighs, pouring another glass and downing it in one go. “Mark got rather… wasted, dare I say? Doyoung and I had to help him walk back to our room. He pushed me against the door the moment Doyoung went back to his, kissed me breathless-”

“With all due respect hyung, I don’t think I want to visualize my best friend and you eating each other’s faces.” Donghyuk has to grit his teeth to stop himself from hissing.

Taeyong pauses to laugh, the sound rings fondly in Donghyuk’s ears and his anger dissipates at once. “Sorry, that was unnecessary, wasn’t it?”

“You were saying,” Donghyuk says, pouring himself a cold cup of water.

“Fast forward, we moved to the bed-” he lifts a finger as he sees Donghyuk opens his mouth to interject, “-where we did _nothing_ because he passed out.”

Donghyuk grimaces at that, imagining how Taeyong must’ve felt so awkward then.

A shrug is Taeyong’s only response. “It was okay, actually. I wouldn’t know what to do if we actually did… things. But I did begin to have hopes. You know, having all these feelings whatsoever. It was only normal.”

“Mark-hyung didn’t remember?” Donghyuk makes a guess. Taeyong downs another glass. The bottle is 3/4 empty now.

“Oh no, he did. That kid’s got a good memory. A few glass of whiskey couldn’t do the trick,” Taeyong chuckles hopelessly. “He told me it was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. Said he was sorry.”

“Son of a bitch,” Donghyuk mutters under his breath, not low enough for Taeyong to not hear.

“Language, young man.”

Donghyuk rolls his eyes. “I can’t get a break, can I?”

“Nope. And speaking of which.” Taeyong takes his hand, asking for his full attention. “Can you promise me one thing?”

Donghyuk finds himself unable to turn away from those expectant eyes, and his playful reply dissolves before it even makes its way out of his mouth.

(Taeyong’s hand is so soft.)

“Don’t drink? Ever,” Taeyong says. He lets a few seconds pass by before he massages his temple. “Wait, that’s an awful request. I can’t do that to you, I can’t even do that to myself! Let me rephrase.”

Donghyuk keeps his eyes on the hand loosely holding his.

“Don’t drink. Until you’re. Uh.” Taeyong tilts his head, but it seems to heavy to keep it balanced, so he rests it on the table. “How old am I?”

“Twenty-four?”

“Twenty-four. Don’t drink until you’re twenty-four.”

Donghyuk waits a little more, for conditions and exceptions, but Taeyong frowns again.

“Wait, I still make bad life decisions at twenty-four-”

“I promise, hyung.” Taeyong’s eyes can barely find his in that position, but he squeezes Donghyuk’s hand, which the younger does so too in return. “No alcohol.”

“Ever- I mean you- when- you- I- until. Until you’re twenty-four.”

“No alcohol until I’m twenty-four.”

“And no kissing people too,” Taeyong adds, immediately letting go of Donghyuk’s hand to pull at his hair upon realizing what he just said. “Fuck, I’m sorry. What am I saying? This is totally not about me. I just want you to be careful, Donghyuk-ah. Please forget everything I said, you’re a big kid, you can look after yourself-”

“I’m still making the promise,” Donghyuk persists, this time him who’s taking the other’s hand. “You’re right. I need to be careful. And I don’t know if by not having alcohol in me would significantly increase my own safety or restrict myself from creating more mistakes, but at least I’m trimming one risk out of maybe a trillion?”

Taeyong looks at him as if he’s grown a second head. “But I don’t want to set up a limit for you. You’re free to do what you want to do.”

“And _I_ want to do this, hyung. I’m going to do it because I want to, not because you tell me to.”

“It’s going to be difficult, Donghyuk. You will _want_ to drink or at least try drinking.”

“I’m sure I will, but I won’t drink.”

The doubt on Taeyong’s face only becomes even more visible.

“I can do it if I promise you. When am I not a man of his word?” Donghyuk offers a smile, but Taeyong only stares at him. “Or in your case, a _boy_ of his word, whatever.”

It takes a while, but Taeyong smiles at that, and gives in: providing Donghyuk with his pinky finger for the younger to hook with his. “You don’t have to take this too seriously, though, Donghyuk. If you want to have a little taste of alcohol when you’re of age, you’re allowed to.”

“Nice try, hyung, but I won’t. I’m not backing down from the challenge. At least until I’m twenty-four.”

“So it’s a challenge now?” Taeyong asks, reaching out to take the bill taped onto the table but Donghyuk beats him to it and hurriedly returns it to the waiter with enough cash.

“Everything’s always a challenge to me, hyung.”

 

\---

 

And a challenge he is faced with.

Taeyong is half-hanging-half-clinging onto him, won’t stop complaining about how his head is as heavy as 15 kilos and that it’s going to fall off his neck.

“It’s not going to fall off, hyung, you have a strong neck,” Donghyuk assures, exaggerating his tone as he tries his best to unlock the door to Taeyong’s hotel room with one hand, his other hand occupied with Taeyong’s waist.

Taeyong replies with a ramble of how much of an irresponsible leader he is, what with letting himself get drunk and causing troubles to the maknae.

Donghyuk pushes the door open with his feet once it’s unlocked. “You’re all right, hyung. Look, we’re inside now. Can you get your legs to work and help me get you to your bed?”

“Yes. Most definitely. In fact I can do it myself,” Taeyong says before unlatching himself from Donghyuk to walk across the room with much struggling and a lot of tripping.

The carpeted floor would no doubt decrease damage to Taeyong if he is to fall, but Donghyuk keeps himself not very far behind the older just in case. And when Taeyong makes it, it was with a loud creak of the bed as he submits all of his weight to the mattress.

(Good thing Mark sleeps like a log.)

“Holy shit I’m all spent,” Taeyong croaks weakly and Donghyuk has to help him sit up again to take off his coat and shoes.

“Mhm, you had a long day,” Donghyuk says, keeping his voice low as he glances at Mark. If not for the rise and fall of his chest, people would think he’s lifeless. He pulls away from the older.

“You’re going?” Taeyong asks, rather breathlessly and it does things to Donghyuk, especially with the flush on his face like that.

“I’m just across the hall. I’ll let you rest now.” Donghyuk rubs small circles on Taeyong’s shoulder as he helps the older to lie down again, but Taeyong props himself up with his elbows.

“Wait, wait, c’mere.” Taeyong reaches out, tugs at Donghyuk’s coat and puckers his lips.

“What are you doing, Taeyong-hyung,” Donghyuk protests, closing his hand around Taeyong’s on his coat but doesn’t pull away.

“Come on, at least let me get a good night kiss from my favorite dongsaeng,” Taeyong negotiates, not letting go until Donghyuk does his favor.

He evades when Donghyuk leans in and aims at his cheek.

“What are you so shy about, kiss me here,” Taeyong says, puckering his lips more insistently.

Donghyuk tries to weigh the pros and cons that come with the request, but Taeyong isn’t giving him many options with his loud whining and Donghyuk thinks he sees Mark flinching on the other bed. So before he changes his mind, he leans in again, this time aiming at Taeyong’s lips.

“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Taeyong probably says- Donghyuk can’t know for sure, because the light is dim and his heartbeat is thundering in his ears. All he can make out is Taeyong smiling up at him so smugly and pleased with his own accomplishment and Donghyuk wants to wipe it off his gorgeous face so he does the first thing that comes to his mind:

He kisses Taeyong again.

Taeyong is compliant at first- perhaps only expecting Donghyuk to give him nothing more than another peck of good night kiss- but freezes once Donghyuk closes his lips around Taeyong’s rather than just pressing them together.

The mouth against his is unresponsive when he puts more pressure into the kiss, but let him have his way nonetheless. Still, Taeyong is perplexed, and while Donghyuk feels terrible for taking advantage of Taeyong’s state, this is too late to undo. And quite frankly, he’s enjoying this too much: he can’t help but chase for those lips when they move away as Taeyong pushes himself up against the headboard.

“Donghy-”

“Let me indulge myself this one time,” Donghyuk shushes him, sliding his hand along Taeyong’s jaw and to his nape, holding it gently as he kisses Taeyong again, this time more emotion than pure want.

Taeyong’s eyelashes brush his cheeks as he rapidly blinks in confusion, and Donghyuk would punch himself in the throat once he gets a grasp of his sense and stops himself from making more chaos. But then he feels Taeyong’s eyes close and before he could register anything, Taeyong’s hesitant mouth moves; he’s molding his lips to fit Donghyuk’s and kissing Donghyuk back.

(He’s lost.)

Donghyuk’s brain has stopped functioning at this rate; he’s nipping at Taeyong’s bottom lip, slowly prompting the older to open his mouth by the probe of his tongue. The blood is rushing up to his face as he tilts his head further and finally having his first taste of Taeyong. His ears deafened by the loud thumping of his heart. This is too much for him to sink in.

(Taeyong is too cruel.)

When he pulls away, it’s with a bowed head, for which he couldn’t find the strength to lift so he silently asks the older’s shoulder to provide him with some.

What he doesn’t expect is the calming stroke of Taeyong’s hand on his hair, and Donghyuk has to clench his eyes shut to keep himself from tipping over the edge.

“Sweet dreams, hyung,” Donghyuk whispers, planting a soft kiss on the older’s warm cheek as he detaches himself. He doesn’t dare to look into Taeyong’s eyes, doesn’t dare to look back when he leaves the room.

As expected: keeping his promise would be an effortless task.

(He doesn’t need alcohol to screw up his life.)

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me I'm not the only one shipping them?
> 
> [my twitter](https://twitter.com/jaehyoons97) so you can inspire me with some prompts


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